Today I’m feeling particularly grateful for my husband, who is currently at the grocery store rounding up everything we need for dinner tonight. We tag team meals a lot – both the cooking and the shopping. It’s been a weekend full of gratitude with him. The kids didn’t have school Friday, so he stayed home with them and offered to watch a friend’s daughter as … Continue reading Gratitude #6: The Hubs
It’s been a crisp but colorful October, and the sunsets have been a real treat. The sky wrapped herself in a variety of hues this month, each of them equally stunning. Most evenings she picked the quintessential pink, one of the most common colors in her closet: Other days she pulled out the gray. Not an angry gray, but a pensive, reflective calm one: And one special … Continue reading Gratitude #5: The Wardrobe of the Sky
There aren’t enough days in the weekend. ~Rod Schmidt Oh how I love the weekend! The kids and I ventured out of town the past few weekends: two weeks ago we went to Hatcher Pass, and last weekend to Girdwood: This weekend we stayed home. And when I say “stayed home,” I mean it quite literally. Today I didn’t even change out of my fuzzy … Continue reading Gratitude #4: Weekends
I’m late posting my fourth gratitude. The shame!! The guilt! First it was because the History Channel aired a two hour documentary about marijuana legalization, which is a topic on Alaska’s ballot next month. Clark and I carved out some time to watch it and have a grown up conversation (imagine that). It didn’t leave much time for publishable blogging. The next night was due … Continue reading Gratitude Challenge: Intermission
“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” ~John Muir, Alaska Days With John Muir, 1915 A few weeks ago I asked my dear friend Nancy, “If we could do anything to celebrate your birthday, what would it be?” It took her a few days to answer honestly, but … Continue reading Gratitude Day 3: The Gift of Hatcher Pass
What a relief that no one was hurt in last week’s magnitude 6.2 earthquake that rattled Alaskans. My school library sustained some decent damage, but my ego may have taken the biggest hit of all. Here’s the scoop: There were three classes in the library that morning, in addition to about a dozen kids on individual passes. When the shaking started I was walking down … Continue reading Gratitude Day 2: Happy Endings & Lessons Learned
There is a Gratitude Challenge going around on Facebook right now. It encourages people to spend a few minutes each day reflecting upon their blessings, and then posting about them. Last week I was nominated, and I have decided to accept the challenge. Sorta. I am blessed to say that listing 15 things, people, moments, or experiences for which I am grateful is an easy task. … Continue reading Gratitude Day 1: Maggie & Marley
It’s soup season in Alaska, but we seem to have a carrot crisis in this house. Last weekend it was the beef stew. The meat was already tenderizing and veggies half chopped before I realized we were out of carrots. Apparently the kids are devouring them in their lunch boxes. Last night it was chicken noodle soup. Once again my children had inhaled 5 lbs … Continue reading Purple Noodle Soup
After all the big water, ocean going boating experiences this summer I cannot describe how great it felt to be back on the Kenai River last weekend. We’ve had our little raft almost as long as we’ve been in Alaska, and it’s been the vessel for many memories: getting engaged on the Gulkana River, Clark’s float hunts on the King Salmon, and camping with a … Continue reading Back to simpler times
August 18, 2014 Clark’s mom came for a nearly 3 week visit, so we were confident we’d be able to get her out on the water. Unfortunately, the weather and seas did not cooperate. By the time things finally calmed down I was back to work, but we decided to make the best of it and go for a quick evening excursion one day after … Continue reading Boat Log 7
Profoundly Ordinary 